Congressman Jim Himes, member of the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about what it would mean to grant immunity the Mike Flynn in exchange for testimony and what considerations would go into granting such immunity.

Michael Flynn is reportedly willing to be interviewed by Congress after being fired by Donald Trump. Plus, new reports about who provided classified info to House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes. Malcolm Nance, Nayyera Haq, and Kathleen Clarke join Joy Reid.

BILL O'REILLY: As you may know, the federal government is threatening cities that do not cooperate with Homeland Security with the loss of federal grant money. And now the city of Seattle is suing the feds over that. The first of many lawsuits, I believe. The basic problem is that cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco do not want to hold illegal aliens they've arrested until ICE can pick them up. Those cities want to release the aliens on bail or their own recognizance. Talking Points believes that is dangerous and irresponsible. If there is a detainer request on someone who should not be in this country, that request should be honored. The sanctuary city people say they will obey a warrant for an illegal alien. But that is a much more complicated process. Immigration agents have to go to a federal judge and present evidence before a warrant will be signed. Takes much more time than a detainer, which just requires the signature of an ICE agent. In a moment, Judge Jeanine Pirro will tell us about the backlog of cases, which is astronomical. Now, why is all this happening? In a city like New York, the mayor is a far left individual who was elected by very liberal voters. Mayor de Blasio sees himself as a defender of the poor and downtrodden. He opposes immigration regulations in general and is fine with millions of undocumented people living in and visiting this city. De Blasio has absolutely no problem with that. So the mind set of de Blasio, Rahm Emanuel in Chicago and other far left mayors is that their constituency wants open borders and amnesty. So they play to that constituency. Enter the federal government, which now wants to enforce immigration law because President Trump made that a hallmark of his campaign. And so you have two opposing forces with little chance of reconciliation. It should be noted that the federal appeals courts have never required local governments to comply with detainer requests. It's optional. You can't be arrested if you defy a detainer. An official can be arrested if he or she defies a warrant. Finally, to make sanctuary cities comply with federal law, the Trump administration will now withhold money from them in the form of Justice Department grants. That means that cities like Seattle, which receive millions of dollars to beef up local law enforcement and to institute safety programs, may not get the money any longer. Which is why Seattle is suing. The whole thing is a giant mess and reflects the huge division in this country. Will sanctuary cities be forced to comply? Doubtful. But they will pay a price.

Reaction and analysis on 'The Five.' Via Fox News: The White House Thursday invited the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee and the leaders of the Senate intelligence committee to view classified material previously seen by House committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. In a letter to the House and Senate intelligence committee's chairman and ranking member, White House Counsel Don McGhan offered to "make these documents" available for Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. to inspect. McGhan added that he believed the documents are "necessary to determine whether information collected on U.S. persons was mishandled and leaked," a reference to alleged surveillance of President Trump's campaign staff and transition team. In a response, Schiff told McGhan, "I look forward to reviewing these materials at the earliest opportunity." Sources told Fox News that Senate intelligence committee chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., had received the same invitation from McGhan. Late Thursday, a committee spokesman said the White House had been asked to direct the nation's spy agencies to turn the documents over to the panel. The exchange of letters took place as Fox News confirmed that two White House staffers â€” Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a senior intelligence director at the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis of the White House Counsel's office â€” aided Nunes in reviewing intelligence at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds March 21. The staffers' identities were first reported by The New York Times. Nunes told reporters last week that he had seen troubling information about the improper distribution of Trump associates' intercepted communications, and he briefed the president on the material before informing Schiff. Speaking on Capitol Hill Thursday, Schiff said he was "more than willing" to accept the White House offer to view new information. But he raised concerns that Trump officials may have used Nunes to "launder information to our committee to avoid the true source."
"The White House has a lot of questions to answer," he declared.

According to Georgetown University, Hillary Clinton will present a series of awards and discuss "the important role that women can play in international politics and peace building efforts" at Friday's annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security through the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She is expected to begin speaking at 11:00 a.m. This will be her first public appearance in the capital since the inauguration.

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Michael Barone, Washington Examiner”Dare I suggest,” writes the economist and blogger Tyler Cowen, “that the quality of governance in this country has taken a downward turn of late?” Or as Casey Stengel, while managing the New York Mets on their way to a 40-120 season in 1962, reportedly asked, “Can’t anybody here play this game?” …

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Wesley Pruden, Washington TimesThe Gorsuch nomination finally gets a vote next week, first when the Senate Judiciary Committee approves the nomination and recommends that the Senate follow with confirmation….